Moisture Management Remains Key Issue Across America

I recently spent some time in the St. Louis area and New York conducting workshops and trainings on moisture management. To my surprise the interest level in this topic remains sky high. The design community as well as contractors still have extreme need for knowledge around moisture management and design options to control this problem.

I guess because I have been dealing with the moisture and mold issues for so many years I feel that just about everyone knows how to protect against it but the truth is there are mold remediation cases from New York to California and it continues to plague the construction industry. But there are solutions to this age old problem – proper wall assembly design and product selection.

Following a training one my co-workers gave there were an hour’s worth of questions about moisture and mold issues. Questions such as:

• What is best assembly to prevent moisture? • Higher insulation systems vs regular insulation systems? • What about changes to the building codes regarding vapor retarders?

In a previous blog we did address the conditions that need to exist for mold to grow and we continue to develop solutions around this very critical issue.

We are in the solutions business and have crafted solutions and created balanced systems with products that can help to minimize moisture build up in wall assemblies and continue to conduct presentations and trainings to assist in the understanding of the best practices in resolving moisture issues in construction.

We will continue our efforts to help people build more robust assemblies and welcome the opportunity to respond to questions.

We need to fight the fight because this effects construction costs. The point is if you build it right to begin with you can solve half the problems that result in moisture and mold damage.

Lucas Hamilton is Manager, Building Science Applications at CertainTeed Corporation.

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CertainTeed is a leading North American manufacturer of building materials including roofing, vinyl siding, trim, fence, railing, decking, insulation, gypsum, and ceilings products. Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, CertainTeed has approximately 6,000 employees and 65 facilities throughout the United States and Canada.